Friday Dinner and a Movie for April provides opportunity for digesting both a great dinner and an insightful look at life-or-death cultural confrontation.

The North Central Chapter of Equality Kansas and 4th Friday films hosts a Mexican dinner at 5:30, followed by the film God Loves Uganda at 7:00 p.m., all at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 901 Beatrice, Friday, April 24.

The Mexican dinner will be a buffet with meat, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. Cookie Brownies and ice cream dessert, water, tea, and wine will be provided. Although the meal is free, donations are requested for this Equality Kansas fundraiser.

The film God Loves Uganda explores the role of the American evangelical movement in Uganda, where American missionaries have been credited with both creating schools and hospitals and promoting dangerous religious bigotry.
The film follows evangelical leaders in Kansas and Uganda influencing politicians and missionaries to eliminate “sexual sin” as they convert Ugandans to fundamentalist Christianity.

Focused on an American-influenced Ugandan bill to punish homosexuality with death, the film reveals the conflicting motives of faith and greed, ecstasy, and egotism, among Ugandan ministers, American evangelical leaders, and the foot soldiers of a theology that sees Uganda as ground zero in a battle for billions of souls.

In Uganda, Lou Engle, creator of The Call, creates a public event that brings tens of thousands of believers together to pray against sexual sin. This powerful evangelical minister in Uganda lives in a mansion served by a white-coated chef. Another Ugandan church reveals a preacher whipping a congregation into mass hysteria with anti-gay rhetoric.

God Loves Uganda records the culture clash between enthusiastic Midwestern missionaries and world weary Ugandans. It features a heartbreaking interview with gay activist David Kato shortly before his murder. It tells the moving story of Bishop Christopher Senyonjo, a minister excommunicated, ostracized and literally spat on for being tolerant – and chronicles his remarkable campaign for peace and healing in Uganda.

God Loves Uganda raises many questions about religion in practice, both in the US and worldwide.